Clean or sterile articles particularly useful for medical applications are packaged to preserve their sterility. The packaging for these articles is intended to provide a barrier to prevent microorganisms from entering inside the packaging to contaminate its contents. In most instances, the packaging is opened immediately prior to using the article, such as with a blister pack housing a syringe, so as to minimize the time period in which the article is exposed to unsterile conditions.
Traditionally, in order to prevent contamination, the syringe is loosely located within conventional blister packaging. The blister packaging provides an enclosure which is sealed against entrance of contaminants and prevents contamination of the syringe. Conventional blister packaging, however, requires two hands and the knuckle-roll-peel technique to open the packaging.
In the fast paced environment of a hospital or other medical setting, where there is little time to fumble with syringe packaging, this two-handed opening process is cumbersome and time-consuming. Medical technicians are often doing multiple tasks at one time, and, because of the design of conventional blister packaging, the technicians must free up both of their hands to open the blister package in order to make an aseptic presentation of the syringe.
Additionally, the traditional two-handed knuckle-roll-peel technique required to open conventional blister packaging often compromises sterility. The packaging, if opened in the wrong direction or in haste, can tear or fracture. This fiber tear is the delaminating of either the top or bottom web of the blister packaging material. Such tearing introduces foreign matter into the syringe product, exposing the syringe to unsterile conditions.
Furthermore, conventional blister packaging consumes a significant amount of material as the packaging requires a peel tab for the user to open the package. This extra packaging material leads to an increase in the cost of each syringe product. Moreover, the additional packaging then needs to be discarded upon opening the package, leading to an increase in the amount of waste material produced in a hospital or other medical setting.
FIGS. 1-4 show a conventional syringe package and opening of a conventional syringe package. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional syringe package. Referring to FIG. 1, the package 2 includes a syringe 4 and a blister package 6. The blister package 6 comprises a flexible web sealed to a backing thus defining a compartment and providing a sealed region 8 about the periphery of the backing for containing the syringe 4. The blister package also includes at least one peel tab 9 for the technician to use when opening the blister package to release the syringe. Referring to FIG. 2, the width of the sealed region 8 is equivalent around the entire periphery of the backing. In other words, whatever the sealing mechanism, the sealed region has the same dimension between the syringe and edge of the package around the entire package 6.
FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the opening of a conventional syringe package. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, with a knuckle-roll motion, the outer packaging material is peeled apart using two hands, and the product is released. In other words, the two-handed knuckle-roll-peel technique used to open the package 2 requires placing the knuckles of both hands on either side of the peel tabs 9 of package 2, and using the thumbs to roll and peel the seal apart, peeling the flexible web away from the backing to reveal the syringe 4 separate from the blister pack 6. This two-handed opening is very cumbersome and time-consuming for the technician, as it requires the technician to free-up both hands for opening the package. Additionally, the traditional two-handed knuckle-roll-peel technique required to open conventional blister packaging often compromises sterility. The packaging, if opened in the wrong direction or in haste, can tear or fracture. This fiber tear is the delaminating of either the top or bottom web of the blister packaging material. Such tearing introduces foreign matter into the syringe product, exposing the syringe to unsterile conditions.
It would be advantageous to provide a package to house a syringe that does not require the two-handed knuckle roll peel technique to open and that does not include a peel tab for opening.